Pa. Turnpike Route 29 slip ramp to open Dec. 11 in Chesco

Both Pennsylvania Rep. Duane Milne (R-167) and state Sen. Andy Dinniman (D-19) were re-elected Nov. 6. Now both look forward to an event in their districts that they say will herald a bipartisan era of traffic relief and, even more important, an economic windfall for the Route 29 corridor and the municipalities that surround it.

Dinniman speculated that perhaps Gov. Tom Corbett will help snip the ribbon for the opening of the Pennsylvania Turnpike's all-electronic interchange at Route 29 in East Whiteland Township 2 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 11. The slip ramp is expected to remove commuter traffic from congested local roads, reduce the volume of traffic headed toward the Downingtown and King of Prussia Turnpike interchanges, and also reduce Turnpike travel time for both commuters and travelers headed to and from Western Main Line communities.

Certainly, Chester County Commissioner Kathi Cozzone, U.S. Rep. Pat Meehan, state Rep. Warren Kampf and Chester County Commissioner Terence Farrell, all of whom participated in the groundbreaking with Milne and Dinniman, might also be expected to return for the opening.

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Ground was broken for the E-ZPass-only slip-ramp project just a year and a half ago. The $60-million project has been on a fast track ever since, although it took almost 10 years to get it out of the station. Coupled with the widening of the turnpike from King of Prussia to Route 29 and eventually to Route 100, and also the widening of Route 202 from Route 30 to Chesterbrook, the Chesco transportation trifecta, totaling a hefty $542 million to build according to Dinniman, will result in $1.5 billion of new construction and will also create 10,000-12,000 area jobs according to his conversations with developers.

The general contractor for the project is Alan A. Myers of Worcester.

Referring to the film "Field of Dreams," Dinniman modified that well-worked movie-mantra to "Build the infrastructure and they will come," referring to Shire Pharmaceuticals, which has decided to move from Chesterbrook to the Atwater Corporate Center to be closer to the new roads, and also to Endo Pharmaceuticals, which will relocate from Chadds Ford.

West Pharmaceuticals has also indicated that it will stay close by in Uwchlan Township. The average salary in the bioscience industry is in excess of $90,000.

Milne said he attributes the slip-ramp success to "bipartisan effort and to the [Pennsylvania] House and Senate working together." He also gave a lot of credit to "a regional coalition [...] including private and nonprofits, individuals and [business] groups."

Milne predicted that the infrastructure will turn "the Route 29 corridor into an economic powerhouse. Take it to the next level." With the road upgrades and turnpike improvements, Milne said, he sees companies locating close by and projects such as Uptown Worthington ("It is on track," he insisted) with its projected combinations of apartments, offices, retail, restaurants, hotels and entertainment, moving ahead.

Milne, a Republican who was re-elected over challenger Rob Broderick to the Pennsylvania House in the 167th Legislative District with more than 58 percent of the votes, said he was "excited to start another term." Pegged as a moderate by some people, he said he responds to that with, "I really try to make decisions issue by issue [that] a majority of citizens would like to see supported. Broad-brush labels [of liberal or conservative] are not the most helpful [things] in the political process."

The Pennsylvania House of Representatives' 167th District includes Willistown Township including a chunk of Paoli, Malvern Borough, and Easttown, Charlestown, East Pikeland, West Whiteland and East Whiteland townships.

Dinniman, who received 58 percent of the votes in his re-election over challenger Chris Amentas to Pennsylvania's 19th Senatorial District seat, noted, "As a Democrat [in Chester County, getting elected] is not an easy mark to attain. I [had to be] supported by independents and Republicans."

District 19 includes parts of Chester and Montgomery counties including Malvern Borough and Charlestown, East Whiteland, Tredyffrin and Willistown townships in the Main Line Media News reading area.

Dinniman noted that he "for the first time, [...] won Willistown and all but four precincts in Tredyffrin." He also noted that "the 19th had the highest vote total of any senatorial district in the state," which he called a tribute to "a constituency that comes out and votes."

"It's clearly a moderate district," Dinniman said. "Chester County is politically in the middle: five degrees to the right," he said, citing his own political poll.

"The slip ramp," Dinniman continued, "is directly related to Tredyffrin and the turnpike widening." Dinniman told the story of Tredyffrin's 10-year-long fight for sound barriers and stormwater remediation, and of his joining senators, Senate transportation-committee chair John Rafferty (R-44) and Senate majority leader Dominic Pileggi (R-9), as they sought to get the Turnpike Commission and other stakeholders on the same page, which included having all of them recognize "the economic development that will result."

"What you have here is a stimulus program that actually works," Dinniman said, lauding the bipartisan support of Rafferty and Pileggi. "They didn't have to support me. They were gracious, [which] allowed the three of us to work together." He was quick to add, "It doesn't take any credit away from the House or anyone else. We were able to build a productive compromise to protect Tredyffrin and allow the [slip-ramp] project to go forward."

In his second term, Dinniman named his priorities as "protect[ing] our area school districts against [state] mandates and unnecessary testing requirements," dealing with the Marcellus-shale "impact in our region that will require miles of pipeline through our district," and "preserving and enhancing the bio-pharma industry, a prime industrial pillar."

"The focus," Milne said of his second term, "is going to stay on economic development and job growth as the federal government wrestles with fiscal challenges, as well as, eventually, with spending cuts that will affect the state budget." Although he said he sees "encouraging signs out there economically, [there will be] a few more years of challenging budgets." One particular challenge that he noted will be the need, with less money from federal sources, for a larger infrastructure and transportation budget to help drive the state's economy.

Dec. 11 should mark the start of proof of what kind of clout infrastructure investment can have. Milne and Dinniman just might want any doubters to keep their eyes on the Route 29 slip ramp.